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How to reach Kasol and things to do around Kasol/Malana in Himachal Pradesh (India)

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If you are a regular visitor of Travellingcamera, you must have noticed that title of this Photo Journey is not really matching with what we usually share. This post is inspired by lot of queries which come to us, especially in summer. One of the mostly asked thing is the options to reach Kasol and Malana. Here we are trying to share some details the option to reach Kasol/Malana, places to stay, things to do and lot more.

While compiling this post, old memories are coming to my mind. I started this blog in 2008 and never got a chance to go again to Kasol, but my only trip to this region was very exciting with college friends. We planned a trip to Kullu Manali from Shimla and thought of visiting Kasol/Malana as well. This was a week long trip and we spent 3 days walking & trekkingaround Kasol.

When it comes to options of reaching Kasol from Delhi or Chandigarh, the only way to hit this region is by road. It's not connected by railway and flights are not very frequent to Kullu. There is an Airport near to Kasol, which is located in Bhuntar (Kullu) but flights are rare and would be a costly affair. In some of the portals, folks have quoted low rates like 2.5K but I could never find that. There is no rail line in part of Himachal Pradesh. Kiratpur Saheb in Punjab and Una in Himachal are two railway stations around this place. Both of these railways stations are more than 150 kilometers away from Kasol. There is another narrow-gauge line at around 100 kilometers, which is located in Jogindernagar, but it's not recommended except in a scenario when you have enough time and want to experience toy train, which starts from Pathankot and ends at Jogindernagar.

So road is only good options to reach Kasol. Now transportation has improved a lot and you have multiple options. There are luxury buses by HRTC are available for Kullu from Delhi, Chandigarh & many other main cities. Even normal buses of HRTC are also quite good and cheapest way to travel. Luxury buses by Himachal Tourism are also available from Delhi. All Volvo buses by HRTC & Himachal Tourism start from Himachal Bhavan in Delhi, which is located in Mandi House near Connaught Place. You may want to check the links from where you can book bus tickets HERE.

All these buses go to Manali via Kullu and one needs to get down at Bhuntar to take local bus for Kasol or a taxi. Kasol is located at around 30 kilometers from Bhuntar. Kullu can be reached from Delhi by national highway NH 1 up to Chandigarh and from there by national highway NH21 which passes through Bilaspur, Sundernagar and Mandi towns. Kullu is 480 km from Delhi.

There are various options available to stay in and around Kasol. Budget hotels, few resorts and luxury home-stays as well. And this place offers great atmosphere all around. Fresh air , blue sky, parvathi river, local folks, cattle grounds, green hills and lot more. There are various interesting treks around Kasol and Malana. There are various easy, moderate and difficult treks around Kasol village. Kheer Ganga is one of the main treks. Whole Parvati valley is very different and more beautiful from many surrounding hills stations of Himachal Pradesh. There is lot to explore in this part of Himachal, some can be discussed and some are not to be disclosed in public !

Kasol is a village in Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Parvati River flows through the village. There is a bridge in the village which divides it in two parts known as Old Kasol and New Kasol. Lot of Foreigners can be seen in the streets around this place. Holy place Manikaran is just 5 kilometers from Kasol. Malana is another popular village which is reachable after a moderate trek. We went till Malana and heard a lot of stories about the place. We also got to know that many of the foreigners have come to this place and living here for many years now. Lot of Israelis come to Kasol and one can see the hebrew language banners in parvati valley. Probably I will share another post only on Malana with some of the mind boggling stories associated with this place, the cannabis and local democracy.

Kasol is one of the favorite places for backpackers and also a base for Himalayan trekking to SarPass, Pin Parbati Pass and Kheer ganga. Wish you a great trip to Kasol.

I would request you to follow these things when traveling -

- Manage your waste well and don’t litter

- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.

- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.

- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.

- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite

Take any bus to Manali from Chandigarh. Probably choose a bus which starts from Chandigarh at 11pm. This bus will drop you at Bhuntar at around 6:30am. Then you can have taxi from Bhuntar to Kasol. If you want to take local bus, delay your travel by an hour.

Prabhat - Sorry for very late reply. Somehow I was missing updates about comments on this post. I don't have any recommendations to stay there. Most of the times, I stayed with friends in that region :).

Alok - Ohh sure, I will add more pictures of Kasol and our trek to Malana. I need to again check my archives :)

Hey I m planning a outstation trip wid my friends. But I m bit confuse between manali nd nanital..... plz give me more information about manali kasol. Is October end is the right time to visit himachal?

Guyz plz helpI m planning a outstation trip wid my friends from delhi but we r bit confuse between nanital nd manali ...we have to visit dre in October end is that right time to visit? What is better kasol smila or manali rohtang pss. Plz rply asap!

@Aditya - It seems you have already planned the trip, so I will skip to answer your query here.

@Kapil - Obviously Summers

Himachal is good in October.

btw, I don't endorse any hotel here so I would let others to respond and recommend. At the same time, I would request only to respond if you have stayed yourself and have first hand experience of the property.

@Sanket - Transport should be available unless there is heavy & fresh snowfall that time.

Hey @vj sharma I am planning to visit kasol on new years eve. Is it okay to go during this time ? Also could you suggest good hotels or homestays out there ? I am afraid everything will be pre booked by others. Shall give me options and i could directly contact them. Thanks !

Hi Priyanka, Here are few things you need to check, because I don't have information on current situation.1. Since snowfall happened few weeks back, ensure that roads are fine.2. Do advance booking, because lot of folks move to this region during last week of Decemeber.3. I don't have any personal recommendation to stay, because most of the times I have stayed at friend's place :)

Planned for a visit in Jan 1st week.I'm traveling to Kasol alone since a family separation. Could you suggest me the best ways to take out my stress?? Planning to spend around 10 days. And I'm in my early thirties.

Planned for a visit in Jan 1st week.I'm traveling to Kasol alone since a family separation. Could you suggest me the best ways to take out my stress?? Planning to spend around 10 days. And I'm in my early thirties.

Bastin - The peaceful enviornment, fresh air and natural beauty will take out half of your stress. The place gives you opportunities to be yourself and enjoy those beautiful moments alone. You can chose to make new friends. I am sure that you can easily find good meditation centers around. I never explored that part , so can't suggest anything concrete.

Happy New year !!!The Information is really good . I have some queries:We are planning to visit kasol in January end . we have only four days including travel from Bangalore(via flight). Please suggest us the places near to Kasol .

VJ, that is some great information. Although I have been to Kasol last year too, never explored the trekking zones. I am visiting Kasol during January end. Could you please list me the shortest treks from kasol and back with time. Thanks In advance.

My brother Ankit Gupta had been to Kasol two days back with 2 friends. He was to return yesterday. But, today morning, he messaged that he somehow separated from his group and has got stuck in Khir Ganga mountain. Since then, we are unable to contact any of his friends. Please help me find him. Please if any one knows any contacts in that range, kindly let me know asap. I am his twin sister....my contact no. is 9958431257. Thanku so much!!

@Nature Soul - Don't worry. I have posted this on facebook called 'The HImalayan Club', which should have local folks who can help. At times, unexpected things happen and his phone might be unreachable or out of battery. I am sure that you would hear relevant details soon.

Hi VJ, thanks for such an informative blog and for following up with us! The comments have been very helpful. I'm from the US and currently working in India. I want to visit Kasol for a music festival from May 21 to 23. So far my plan would be:

Overnight bus from Delhi on the night of the 20th, arriving in Bhuntar around 6:30 am on the 21st. Then take a bus from Bhuntar to Kasol that morning. Then do basically the reverse to catch a bus back to Delhi on Monday May 23rd.

I have a few questions for you logistically.

1. Should I try to book everything in advance to avoid paying the 'tourist' price?

2. If I can't get a bus from Bhuntar to Kasol for some reason, how much should I pay for a taxi?

Thanks Graham for your comment. It looks like a good plan. As far as bus booking is concerned, you should do it in advance because it's summer and weekend. So there will be high demand. HRTC buses start from Mandi House in Delhi and more can be check at - http://phototravelings.blogspot.com/2014/06/how-to-reach-himachal-hill-stations.html

Regarding stay - My recommendation is to plan it in advance and explore some of the echo friendly places around. Probably a good home stay. I don't have any first hand experience, so can't recommend anything.

And if you don't get a bus from bhuntar to Kasol, you need to take taxi. I need to check current taxi rates. So give me some time to find these details.

Hi VJ, Me and my buddies are planning to go to kasol around 25th of June, travelling from Mumbai.I would like to know whether it's safe to travel from Chandigarh during this period and if there are any chances of landslides.

Hai Mr vj Me and my frrinds are planning to go to kashol and mala on the last week of this dec.Can we go to malana in any time.because we are nature trippers , like we want to explore both kashol and malana. Trekking is the only way to reach malana in which all precautions we must take can u pls suggest as the proper this and allWith hope

Is it safe to go kasol with my boyfriend? I want to explore this place. I have been shimla with my boyfriend and hopefully everything was fine :) But i won't like if anyone may interfere in my life. Can you please tell if it is safe for me and my boyfriend to visit kasol or not. Thank you

hey man I have a very low budget..but it's my dream trip so can you please tell me the cheapest way to travel from Delhi to kasol and tosh and other places also I am going alone in this week so is it safe?

There are lot of HRTC buses for Manali. Check out what fits your budget. Bus fare would vary from 450Rs to 1500Rs. I am sure you haven't booked anything yet :) ... This weekend would be overbooked there. So try to arrange a place to stay as you reach in morning. It may cost a little, but don't stick to central area and try to negotiate.

Hi Jimmy, I wish I had latest information about the road condition as of today. But certainly roads are not very steep, but it varies w.r.t. comparisons you do. So tell me what you feel is steep and then I would be able to tell you exactly. It's curvy for sure but again not that much.

Hey vj. Im planning to spend around 3-4 days in malana, kasol and tosh in mid January with my friends. Can you please give me positive and negative points wrt weather, stay, food, cost etc. Thanks 😊 btw that is a beautifully written blog. If you can please send your response on dr.devil70@gmail.com

Hey bro.. iam planning a trip to kasol on my bike from dehradun, so can u plz tell me that I would be able to take my bike inside the malana village? And can u also suggest me about the trekking from malana to kheerganga? How to proceed for trekking ?

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